Page 131 of Shadowblood Souls: The Complete Series

There is something deeply wrong about watching a twelve-year-old raise a pistol and blast away a target with cool focus.

Andreas brightens at the sight of me, and my pulse stutters with the sudden thought of all the things he doesn’t know. I haven’t seen him since getting back from my mission.

There’s no sign in his expression that any of my other guys have filled him in on the pieces he’s missing.

I grab a pair of earmuffs and examine the array of weapons on offer, presided over by another guardian. They’re basic handguns and rifles, including a couple with sniper scopes.

I haven’t done much work with long-distance shooting. I pick up one of those and move to a lane that’s deeper, with a more intricate target at the far end.

Something about the process of positioning the gun and focusing on the stick figures I’m supposed to pick out in the target drawing is unnervingly reassuring in its familiarity. I sink into the same focused state Tegan must have found.

Squeeze the trigger. One, two, three, four times.

I miss one of the targets by half an inch, but the bullets tear straight through the others. The finished sheet whirs away, and another takes its place.

I’ve blasted my way through five of them when I notice Andreas heading over to the equipment area. As he takes off his earmuffs, I lower my rifle.

I have to talk to him. That’s more important than just about anything.

We can’t come up with any plan at all until we’re on the same page.

Andreas waits for me and catches my hand as we head down the hall, away from the thunder of the range. He probably figures we’ll hang out in the valley for a bit, but I stop him right by the waterfall.

Its noise can cover our voices too.

I bob up, looping my arms around his neck when he bends to meet me. For all my determination, in that first moment I can’t help simply hugging his leanly muscular frame to me.

“Hey,” Andreas murmurs by my ear, embracing me just as eagerly. “I missed you too.”

I let out a rough laugh and squeeze him tighter, shutting my eyes against a sudden burn of tears. Cool flecks dapple our skin from the waterfall next to us, but I tune out the sensation.

I tuck my head against his shoulder so I can speak right by his ear like he did with me. “Things are even more messed up than we realized. Dominic found out that Clancy’s picking missions based on what he gets paid to do. And he doesn’t really care who’s paying him or why they want the job done.”

Drey kisses my cheek, but his mouth has drawn into a grimace. “He managed to tell me about some of that when I saw him yesterday. Not what the guy pitched to us, is it?”

“No.” I let out a shaky breath. “But it’s gotten even worse than that. He found out about our marks. Because Jake and I—after the mission, we…”

I trail off, abruptly uncertain of my words, but Andreas gives a low chuckle. “You don’t have to feel bad about that. You told me right from the start how you felt about all of us. I’m glad Jake’s done enough for you to trust him again.”

I swallow thickly, simultaneously warmed by his response and sickened by the rest I have to tell him.

“That’s not the problem. Clancy didn’t know any of us had formed that kind of connection before.

He wants to study how it happens— what actually happens.

So he stuck me and Zian in a room together and tried to make us put on a demonstration. ”

Drey’s whole body goes rigid against mine. He pulls back just far enough for me to see the fury flashing in his dark gray eyes. “What the fuck? I’ll kill the asshole myself.”

He’s managed to keep his voice low enough even in his anger that the guardian down the hall doesn’t react, but my heart skips a beat anyway. I pull him back to me to hide his expression.

“Nothing happened. Well, Zian really freaked out. Have you seen him since yesterday morning? They tranqed him.”

Andreas pauses, his muscles flexing with the tension coursing through his body. “He was there at breakfast this morning. Quieter than usual, but then, we don’t usually feel comfortable talking all that much anyway.”

A little of my own worry releases. “Okay. Good. I just—I think Clancy’s going to try again. Not the same way, but… He really wants to figure out why our powers are bonding like that.”

Drey lets out a sound that’s close to one of Zian’s wolf-man growls and hugs me like he thinks if he can hold me tight enough, Clancy won’t be able to reach me. Right now, I think if our captor stepped into view, Drey might actually murder the guy, consequences be damned.

“We can’t stay here,” I say. “But I haven’t been able to figure out any way we could make a run for it without getting caught before we’re even out of the valley.”

Andreas’s breath hisses through his teeth. “I’ve been searching the guardians’ memories here and there when I get the chance, looking for anything that might be useful in case we wanted to break out. Nothing useful has come up so far, but I’ll start pushing harder. There’s got to be a chance.”

He nuzzles my hair and squeezes me in another hug. “We made it so far before, Tink. We can do it again. I’m not letting him turn you into some kind of sex experiment. If you need to fight back in the moment, fight. Don’t worry about the rest of us.”

Pressed against his solid chest, I choke up with a swell of emotion. Because it just might come to that.

And deciding between my personal autonomy and my guys’ well-being is the last choice I’d want to make.